Reason
by Chaos Githzerai
Summary: No action is without its reason... Reshiram x Articuno, Articuno's PoV.


_Author's Note: Yes, I know I have other projects I should be updating, but this one-shot kept bugging me to write it, because it involves my first and only Legendary x Legendary pairing, Reshiram x Articuno, which I have dubbed __**FrozenLightShipping**__. I have a feeling that I'm going to get some pretty odd looks/reactions for this one, but I don't care, I feel that those two click well and that they look nice together and I like that they're of opposing elements. This takes place shortly after the events of Revelation Lugia from Articuno's point of view, and for the record, trying to give Articuno and her siblings reasons for fighting aside from just being pissed off and wanting more power is easier said than done even though I'm forever bothered by the fact that the Legendary Birds were treated as nothing but mindless brutes in the movie while Lugia was given character. No offense to him, but I've always had a soft spot for Articuno, and I don't like how she was portrayed at all._

_Rantlet aside, though, I quite enjoyed writing this even though I have yet to settle upon an appropriate title and summary, so they may change later on, and trying to give Reshiram a personality _this _early on, with nothing but the official art and a few screenshots to work with, was quite a chore on its own. I don't expect this pairing to become that well-known or well-liked by anybody else, but I'm quite happy with it and I may or may not write it again in the future. For those of you who are following Timeless, I promise I'll update it sometime this year, but where I'm at now requires me to be in the correct mood, gomen ne._

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

_Once again, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri.

* * *

_

Ice was known for being the coldest and most distant of the elements, and as of the battle which had recently taken place within the skies over Shamouti Island within the Kanto Region's Orange Archipelago, with the way Articuno now insisted upon distancing herself from her siblings, such a description of the current state of her personality in comparison to her element couldn't have been more accurate. Though the physical wounds which once laced over her form had been healed by Lugia's song, the wounds inflicted upon her psyche still bled raw along with the resentment she felt towards her siblings for what they had done.

'_It's not my fault Zapdos doesn't know how to aim his stupid electricity properly! And Moltres had absolutely _no_ reason to target me, either!_' she thought angrily, giving vent to a screech mixed between resentment and frustration at how things had played out. '_I wasn't maddened from being captured by that flying thing like they were! I wasn't trying to hurt my siblings, damn it, I was trying to help them! And _what_ do I get for my efforts? A Thunderbolt to the front and a Flamethrower to the back - both of which caused me to have a collision with that damned shrine..._'

The ice bird dared not move her gaze from where it currently remained fastened to the lights of the towering buildings of Hiun City which lay in the distance, having absolutely no idea why she had chosen to flee to far-off Isshu when she could've just flown back to her roost within the Seafoam Islands since, for the time being at least, Ice Island was the _last_ place she wanted to be right now. Perhaps it was to avoid the inevitable lecture she knew Lugia would give her for being so damn careless or to keep herself from getting into any more unwanted conflicts with Zapdos and Moltres, but what Articuno _did_ know was that she just _had to get away_ _from_ _all_ _of them_ before the anger manifesting deep within devoured her from beak to talons.

'_And Lugia... stepping in the way he did..._' Articuno squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her beak, feeling another screech welling up inside her, which she decided to fight down, knowing that she'd rather not strain her vocal chords over this matter. '_Nearly getting himself killed because Zapdos and Moltres were squabbling like a pair of disgruntled Gyarados, and he had the nerve to assume that I was doing the same?_'

She shook her head, mahogany eyes snapping open as she spread her wings and rose from her perch. There were other ways she knew of to relieve stress, but as she climbed higher and higher into the sky, the Freeze Pokémon knew just how she would work this off: it was a risky, stupid game that she and her siblings played back when they were younger, until Lugia had finally caught them at it and made them all promise to never do it again. It involved climbing high into the sky over the ocean before tucking in one's wings and going into a free-fall, and the one who pulled him or herself out of said dive closest to the surface of the water was declared the winner.

'_The perfect game for the occasion..._' she thought sullenly, taking a few slow, deep breaths to steel herself as she focused intently on a point upon the ocean's surface not far from the coastline, before the Ice/Flying dual type tucked her wings against her sides and allowed herself to tip forward into a steep dive, her long tail streaming out behind her like a cerulean ribbon, the thrill of seeing the water's surface rushing up to meet her momentarily replacing her anger. Articuno was just about to snap her wings out when something suddenly collided with her right side, sending both her mystery assailant and herself tumbling through the air before they came to a rough stop, resulting in Articuno sprawled out upon her back on the ground with the other looming over her.

"Get off!" she hissed, struggling to free herself even as the other's low, semi-gravelly voice came to her hidden ears:

"And risk you doing something else completely foolish? Not a chance."

The anka 'mon's eyes widened for a few fleeting seconds in recognition as she ceased her struggles and went limp, her eyes then narrowing into nothing but mere slits when Reshiram's wolfish head came into view above her, his stern sky blue eyes burning right through her. Though Articuno would never freely admit it, Reshiram was one of the few other Legends whom she respected enough to consider a friend, alongside Suicune and Ho-Oh, but as of now, even the White Yang Pokémon's presence was trying what little patience she had left.

"Get off," she snapped again, managing to resist balking underneath the fire dragon's gaze when he narrowed his eyes in a silent warning. "It wasn't what it looked like."

"Then _what_ were you doing if not trying to drown yourself?"

"I'll tell you what I was doing once you let me up," she replied, climbing to her feet when the dragon obeyed, though the slowness of his movements told her that he had been reluctant to do so. The avian shook herself in an attempt to dislodge at least some of the sand particles which she could feel underneath and between each and every feather, knowing that preening herself later would be absolute hell. Articuno spared a quick glance over at Reshiram, and she was barely able to suppress a trill of laughter at the fact that his usually well-kept fur was now sticking out haphazardly in different directions. He arched a brow at her, and the Ice-type reminded herself that her plumage probably looked just as ridiculous, if not more so.

"Care to explain your course of action?"

"It's a game that I... used to play with Zapdos and Moltres back when we were younger," she said, the mention of her siblings bringing her pain and anger back to the surface. "So, I would have pulled myself out of that dive before anything bad could have happened."

"You don't know that for certain, Articuno." Despite the even tone of Reshiram's voice, there was a hint of something which reminded the ice bird faintly of Lugia when he was gearing up for one of his lectures. "_Any_ degree of miscalculation of the distance between yourself and the ocean's surface would have ended in disaster. I've known you to do some pretty brash things, but never without any reason behind them."

"I'm _not_ 'brash'!" she snapped, snowy-white chest feathers fluffing in her agitation as she glared up at him, her mind grasping desperately at something - anything - else to help strengthen her words. "I just needed a way to help me calm down from everything that happened..." She trailed off, a long drawn-out sigh leaving her as she looked away. "I'd rather not talk about it, though..."

"To risk dashing yourself against the water's surface isn't a good way to go about it, and I already know about the clash the four of you had in the skies over Shamouti Island."

Articuno's eyes widened for a fleeting second before narrowing as she felt her anger spike, and the anka 'mon whipped her head around to glare up at the dragon for the second time.

"Wha... H-how! Who told you!"

"Lugia."

"Oh..." The avian felt herself wince as she lowered her gaze to the sand as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world, feeling a tidal wave of both anger and embarrassment crashing over her.

"Why..." she whispered, desperately wishing that she could just disappear now that _Reshiram_ - of all her fellow Legends - knew of how damn weak she was in comparison to her brother and sister. "What... did he tell you...?"

"Because I asked, and he told me... everything," Reshiram's hesitation made Articuno blink, but the avian dared not look up at him. How could she now... or ever again? "_Never_ in all my life had I ever seen him so upset. He was beside himself with worry because you were nowhere to be found."

"I didn't want to be found, and it's not like my well-being is any of your damn business; you're not Lugia, nor are you my brother... I just want to be left alone until this entire mess is forgotten..."

"That's not the best way to deal with the situation and you know it." The stern edge to his voice made her flinch. "And since I promised Lugia I would search for you, yes, this _is_ my business. You are going to have to face your family sooner or later, whether you want to or not. We all have had fallings-out with those we hold dear, so you are not alone in this."

Articuno remained silent, turning the white dragon's words over and over in her mind. He was right, in a way, but unless Lugia really had told the Dragon/Fire dual type everything that had gone on during the clash, Articuno realized that there was a fifty/fifty chance that Reshiram _didn't _know what the avian wanted to take to her grave...

'_**You're not my mother!**_' Zapdos's harsh words before he had taken her out of the fight echoed within the depths of Articuno's mind, and the tears she had been fighting to hold back threatened to fall. '_**You may be the oldest, but that **_**doesn't **_**give you authority over myself **_**or**_** Moltres, so stop treating us like fledglings!**_'

... that her being taken out of the fight by her siblings had been a consequence _of her own_ _volition_, of having always treated Zapdos and Moltres like children rather than as her brother and sister.

'_I... have no right to be angry at them... the only one I should be angry at... is _myself_..._'

"Reshiram..." Her voice cracked as she fought to get her words past the lump in her throat. "Did he really tell you... _everything_... that happened...?"

"Only what he knew, but that doesn't mean all the pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place. Your brother and sister have also given voice to what they know, so all that's needed now is your side."

Her brow furrowed a bit when she felt a light touch near the base of her left wing, and she turned her head, seeing that the dragon had set a claw there, his white fur standing out from the sky blue of her plumage.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she continued doing all she could to keep from breaking down then and there when she felt his claw give a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "What happened to me is something I don't want to talk about, but if I'm to tell someone I don't view as family, I'm glad that it's you."

"I won't betray you," he murmured, the harsh edge of his voice absent now, and when Articuno finally raised her gaze to meet his own, she took notice of the faint smile that had chosen that moment to appear across his lupine muzzle. "I only regret that I don't know what else to tell you aside from a mere 'thank you'."

"I'd... better quit stalling," she replied, giving a slow blink in her way of silently saying 'you're welcome', wishing that she didn't possess a beak so she could physically return the gesture he had given her.

"Take your time," he murmured, the gentle tone of his voice helping to calm her frazzled nerves, though only a little, and Articuno couldn't help but wonder if the fire dragon had ever used such a tone with anyone else. That wasn't important right now, though, and she pushed the thought to the side as she took a deep breath and steeled herself the best she could before she began:

"... I don't really have much to add to the entirety of what happened, except that when I tried to fight that... _thing_, I..." She sniffled, a few tears finally breaking through to crawl down her face, solidifying even before they began to fall. "I was afraid... I was so afraid, but I chose to hide behind my lone crusade to try and save Zapdos and Moltres from it. My Ice Beam did... _nothing_... It did absolutely nothing against that damned metallic monster, but I didn't want to give up and I don't know how much time had passed before my siblings had somehow managed to escape. I was so happy that they were both all right, but then... then... they were _fighting each other_ and I didn't know what to do at all, and then they turned on _me_! That thing _must_ have driven them to madness, I mean... we _never_ fought each other up until now...

"I had no choice but to defend myself, and then Lugia came, and that's when everything went to hell... I'm not proud of the fact that I'd struck out against him, but I was _so angry _at him for interfering in a matter I wanted to solve on my own even though I wasn't doing a very good job of it _at all_... Zapdos, Moltres, and I... hurt... him... I thought we'd _killed_ him... but then, _somehow_, he came back. I wasn't paying attention, so I can't really explain how it happened, but he was all right." She swallowed hard and slowly pulled her gaze from him as she closed her eyes for a few moments. "And that's when Zapdos... th-that's when Zapdos..."

"That's when he struck you down, isn't it," Reshiram said, the matter-of-fact tone of his semi-gravelly voice causing her to hang her head, her wings unfurling as a wave of shame washed over her. She could only nod, feeling her insides tightening as if Regigigas had subdued her with Crush Grip. "He did mention this, but not in detail, saying that you had been unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"That's not true..." the Freeze Pokémon muttered, her voice nothing but a blank monotone. "The reason why he struck me down is because I _deserved_ it... He said that I wasn't his mother, and that I have no authority over himself _or_ Moltres even though I'm the eldest, and what's worse is that he's _right_... I haven't exactly been fair to _either _of them, so I guess that's why Moltres helped him take me out of the battle even though she's not the type to openly voice something that bothers her." She sniffled again, pausing to brush some tears away with a wing. "Even though they hurt me, I love my siblings, and ever since we were hatchlings, I've tried to be _both_ a mother and a big sister because all I've wanted to do is take care of them since Lugia can't be there to watch over us all the time... I _never_ once stopped to think that I was trying way too hard to fulfil a role I'm not cut out to have, and how do I finally realize this? With a Thunderbolt _and_ a Flamethrower as a rude awakening. It's _all my fault _that Zapdos became so stoic and distant... All my fault that he _hates_ me..."

"No family is perfect, Articuno," the white-furred dragon replied, the claw he had resting above her wing moving to rest against one side of her face as he tilted her head up to where she was looking at him, his movements gentle as if one miscalculation on his part would cause her to shatter like the element she embodied. "Even Zekrom and I have had disagreements in the past, but we still care for each other as if such conflicts had never occurred. I'm certain that Zapdos _doesn't_ hate you despite the things he said; why do you think he lied rather than admit the truth of what had gone on between you?"

"Perhaps you're right, but what he said to me still hurts, so it's going to be difficult for me to apologize to him even though I'm the one who's in the wrong. And speaking of apologies, I'm sorry for snapping at you like I did," she said, mahogany eyes darting to the side for a few seconds in a nervous gesture when she realized that... he was _still touching her_. "I had no right to take my anger out on you like that, so I'm surprised you decided to put up with me."

She immediately regretted her words when Reshiram said nothing, his sky blue eyes unreadable as the silence gave way to a feeling of awkwardness, and when the Dragon-type gave vent to a soft sigh, Articuno was about to voice a second apology, only to have the words die upon her tongue when Reshiram moved to pull her against him, his feathery wings wrapping about her smaller form as he rested his chin against the crown of her head, right behind her crest, his actions leaving her confused since he wasn't exactly a touchy-feely sort.

"As I stated earlier: no action is without its reason," he murmured, his warm breath brushing against her feathers with each and every word spoken. "I 'put up with you' because I don't like seeing you in pain, which is why I made that promise to Lugia. My only regret is that it has taken me so long to tell you this, but during the course of time we've known one another, I've come to care for you, and if you find discomfort in my words, I promise that I'll never mention this again."

Again, Articuno found herself wishing that she could physically smile, even though his rather unexpected confession had left her at a loss for words. Remaining silent in order to allow all he had said to sink in, the Ice-type pulled back a bit in order to stare into his eyes, noticing that their normally stern expression had been replaced by that of gentle affection. Never allowing her gaze to slip from his, the anka 'mon leant forward to remove a loose tuft of fur from the left side of his face, keeping her movements as gentle as she could before she leant back, still holding the bit of fur in her beak for a few seconds, before allowing it to drift to the ground.

Preening was an avian gesture of affection, but it said what, for the moment at least, she was unable to put into words...

... that she felt the same.

* * *

_**Anka (or Anqa)**__ - The giant arctic bird of Arabic mythology similar to the Persian roc/rukh and, in a way, to the phoenix. _


End file.
